Have you ever wondered just exactly how long women – and some men – have been applying concoctions (some very mysterious, some very questionable) to their faces in the pursuit of beauty?
The short answer is, for a long time.
From the Ancient Egyptians to Imperial China to the modern day, people have been using face masks with all kinds of ingredients in them in the pursuit of beauty and gorgeous skin. Some of the ingredients were incredibly questionable, while some are to ingredients that are still popular today, like ground pearl powder and turmeric.
Ancient Egypt
As well as famously bathing in donkey milk, Cleopatra and many other Egyptians used clay as face masks to draw out impurities. Some face masks used were also made (rather questionably) out of crocodile dung, as it purportedly improved the appearance of skin.
Imperial China
Face mask ingredients popular in Ancient China included ground pearl powder, ground mung beans, crushed tea leaves, rice water, and mint leaves. Carefully chosen ingredients would be ground into a paste and applied all over skin to protect it against dark spots, wrinkles, and other signs of ageing.
20th Century Europe
In pursuit of the most radiant, fair skin, face masks containing lead and mercury were incredibly popular because they so effectively bleached skin – that was, they were popular until the connection between these products and heavy metal poisoning was made and they were banned.
Ayurvedic India
Traditional Indian Medicine, known as Ayurveda, focused on plant-based ingredients such as turmeric, coconut oil, and other botanical extracts to improve skin from the inside out. Treatments based on Ayurvedic Medicine are still popular today for their natural ingredients and gentle efficacy.
The Modern Day
As our understanding of ingredients and modern technology improved, masks evolved into the modern treatments that we see lining the shelves of our local beauty stores – clay masks, peel off masks, sheet masks… You can find literally every kind of mask tailored for every skin type and every skin concern.
Like historical face mask trends we saw above, we’ve got modern day mask trends too – luckily, none involving lead or crocodile dung. But are our current options they really as good as we think?
Peel Off Masks
Peel off masks are usually geared towards oilier, congestion-prone skin types and don’t have any kind of ingredient that can absorb into the skin. Instead, they’re designed to pull out clogs and blackheads – a painful process which can also yank out a few eyebrow hairs, if you’re not careful!
Do-It-All Sheet Masks
Sheet masks are being absolutely revered as the height of skin care technology – a sheet of cotton-based fibre is soaked in an essence formulated with skin-loving ingredients, such as Hyaluronic Acid and Niacinamide. But, they’re messy and finicky to use – they drip everywhere, slide off your face, and aren’t environmentally friendly.
Clay Masks
Cleopatra had this one right – clay masks do draw impurities out of the skin, reducing oil production and unclogging pores. They’re a staple product for keeping skin blemish-free by absorbing excess oil, but like peel off masks, don’t impart any skin-nourishing ingredients into the skin.
With all the masks out there, I can see how you might think that we’ve maybe, just maybe reached the height of face mask technology. But what if I told you that you were wrong?
There’s a mask out there that’s completely dry, yet imparts potent ingredients to the skin through nanofibre technology – [n]fibrecare Nanofibre masks.
The Next Generation: Nanofibre Masks
Nanofibre masks are literally the forefront of face mask technology. What makes this revolutionary type of mask so incredibly unique and effective is the fact that beneficial, skin-loving ingredients are loaded in the actual fibres of the mask – despite the fact that the mask is completely dry. It sounds insane, but it’s the best way for skin to absorb and benefit from the perfectly formulated ingredients in the mask fibres.
The nanofibres begin to dissolve on contact with damp skin, effectively releasing a potent dose of its active ingredients directly into the skin. Every inch of your face that the dry mask touches infuses your skin with powerful, nourishing ingredients tailored to your skin type. They’re a dry, non-messy, and potently effective mask that delivers results in just 8 minutes – what’s not to love?
